Category Archives: Movies

Jul 20 2022
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized, United States

The Last Seduction (1994).

What a cracker this is!

Bill Pullman just disappeared for a decade and a half, but here he is in his prime, a remnant from the James Stewart acting school of nonchalance. He really should have graduated to the role of troubled leading man, a jaded cop or something.

One would deem this an archetypal neo-noir, but your femme fatale here is the protagonist for once. The multi-faceted, polymathic, boozing, smoking, shagging, utterly obscenely ridiculous Linda Fiorentino running rings around every idiot she meets.

Marry me?

We also have J.T. Walsh and his sleazy voice.

And a jazz soundtrack that doesn’t feel like a desperate bolt-on feature.

Riot of a film.

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Jul 02 2022
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Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Technology, Uncategorized

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

I wasn’t expecting much from this, the picture released decades after the last instalment. It smelled of a desperate reboot, and all the chatter of on-set discord (to put it lightly) between the leads wasn’t encouraging. But how stunning this movie turned out to be, a nonstop thrill-ride serving as the antidote to today’s CGI-laden borefests.

It looks like it was storyboarded to the max, and thank fuck as it’s expert spectacle. So many movies give the impression that the cinematographer and director never even discussed the visuals before the day’s shoot. Fury Road, however, defines … creative carnage.

I recommend the best way to view this treat is as a double bill with Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981). Fittingly, Roger Ebert’s review of the Mel Gibson classic captures the appeal of both:

‘What is the point of the movie? Everyone is free to interpret the action, I suppose, but I prefer to avoid thinking about the implications of gasoline shortages and the collapse of Western civilization, and to experience the movie instead as pure sensation. The filmmakers have imagined a fictional world. It operates according to its special rules and values, and we experience it. The experience is frightening, sometimes disgusting, and (if the truth be told) exhilarating. This is very skillful filmmaking, and “Mad Max 2” is a movie like no other.’

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Jun 29 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized, United States

Jarhead (2005).

Jarhead (2005) is one of most visually unmemorable good movies ever. It all looks lovely but entirely anonymous, solid craftsmanship rather than the captivating. I can’t recall a single striking shot; the poster leaves more of an impression than any of the images. Maybe this is the point – capturing the monotony of war. But is war really this boring? A dozen other movies say no.

It’s quite the riot, though, for the first hour, lots of lolz and a frenetic pace, an atmosphere that builds up to something that … never really happens. The early promise peters out and you just get repetition. Once again this may be the point. But what’s the point? This is a war movie, not an episode of Seinfeld. Watch Three Kings (1999) instead. It’s about something.

And Chris Cooper’s high billing for this annoyed me. He is barely in it and leaves little impression other than a weak imitation of Robert Duvall’s Colonel Kilgore.

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Jun 23 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies

Hail, Caesar! (2016).

Hail, Caesar! (2016) feels both enamoured with and contemptuous of post-war ’50s Hollywood, revelling in the sleaze and skulduggery behind the charade as a nostalgia piece, whilst also informing us that it’s still how the edifice operates.

Eddie Mannix is flatteringly portrayed by Josh Brolin as a reluctant fixer plagued by Catholic guilt, but it works because of the sharks swimming around him. Brolin excels at these roles, capturing just the right combination of the smarmy and the sentimental. It’s a loose telling of events, as anything deeper would result in a murkier film.

As a pure comedy, it’s very funny. And every Hobie Doyle scene is hilarious. A snippet:

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May 28 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut (2004). Why, oh why?

I’ve always said that Donnie Darko (2001) is a tad overrated, and its soundtrack a big role in the movie’s appeal. However, it is a very good motion picture, one with just the right amount of ambiguity and tension to keep it captivating all the way to the end credits. It balances so many different genres and themes, that for a first-time director its remarkable.

Imagine my horror upon accidentally watching the ‘Director’s Cut’. Verily, I was mortified. It started from the get-go, Echo & the Bunnymen’s ‘The Killing Moon’ replaced by INXS’ ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ for the iconic bike ride home. Initially, I thought I was in the throes of one of these ‘fan edits’ that do the rounds. But nah, these are conscious, completely sober adjustments made by the director. Even worse, the bloke inserts title cards before or after confusing (for some) scenes, explaining what is happening.

He can of course do whatever he wants with his own creation, but come on, man. I can’t think of a single reason why the bloke would commit this (art) crime other than boredom or an addiction to needless tinkering. Anyway, I’ll forgive him once I view the only version again.

And that’s that.

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May 18 2022
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Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies

Spider-Man 2 (2004) revisited.

I didn’t think much of this upon a first viewing. Time, or the slew of shit since – mostly of the multiverse variety and endless remakes and reboots – has been kind to the exceptional Spider-Man 2 (2004).

Gripping action scenes with three-dimensional characters in the mix, an almost total lack of the usual highly irritating in-jokes that feel out of place, scenes with actual emotional heft, and comic strip transitions that work.

Alfred Molina should have been in more stuff after this, the next go-to über-villain.

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May 06 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, United States

Nobody (2021). AWESOME.

Loved this. Think John Wick/The Equalizer/Death Wish rolled into a can and Saul Goodman peeking in for a whirl. It’s frankly ludicrous in bits but just so entertaining. This is action done right – it stems from the real-life scenarios we see daily in the tabloids and hope such things never happen to us (sometimes they do).

I recall the Travis Bickle’s tragic line, “Here is a man who would not take it anymore.”

But talk about fight scenes. This film demonstrates what it’s like to be punched in the face. It really hurts. Personally, I’ve always preferred a whack in the chin than the nose; with the former, you’re done. The latter, you bleed and show the wounds of battle.

This movie is hilarious and believable at the same time. It’s a 5/5. Well done, Bob Odenkirk. Top lad.

Get it seen!

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Apr 09 2022
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Nicolas Cage went full meta years ago but now it’s official.

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Jan 13 2022
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Nicolas Cage and a pig ….

I was never sceptical that Nicolas Cage couldn’t do it, but when you hear ominous rumours swirling about of a movie consisting of Nicolas Cage trying to find his stolen truffle pig, I was a wee bit … concerned. But I shouldn’t have been.

Cage pulls it off with aplomb (of course he would have). He excels at normal-weird, if this makes sense. I define it as weirdness with an explanation. He’s a rather unorthodox actor, to say the least, but even in flicks ripe for garbage disposal, he’s always interesting.

Pig (2021) did surprise me. It wasn’t shit or pretentious or boring. It’s a curious wee arthouse number with Cage at the centre, occasionally losing his shit as Cage does, but ultimately all in service of the character. It’s no masterpiece but feels like it should be.

He just wants his pig back.

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Jan 01 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies

The Power of the Dog (2021).

This was magisterial and a joy to watch. It’s not exactly a ‘fun’ movie but it’s captivating in its sincerity and … power. There’s a sense that at any moment something awful could happen, and that’s mostly down to Cumberbatch, who is as unpredictable as he is scary. His Phil Burbank recalls Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007), and The Power of the Dog is quite similar to that seminal film in atmosphere and lurid landscape.

Don’t be expecting a knockout punch moment because it’s not that kind of movie, more a series of jabs, each progressively harder.

A strong contender for film of the year.

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